Livingston midfielder Stephane Omeonga knows all too well that Hibs can get easily frustrated.
And the former Hibee insists he’d love nothing more than to hear the boos rain down from the Easter Road stands when he makes his return to Leith today.
The Belgian was a popular figure amongst the Hibs fanbase during two separate loan spells in 2019 and 2020 and admits it will be a ‘special occasion’ to be back at the club.
But his love affair with the Edinburgh outfit will go out the window once he crossed the white line at 3pm.
He said: “It will be special. I loved playing for Hibs, I was buzzing to play a home game when I was there.
“When we played against them here at Livingston, I was quite emotional so, to go back to Easter Road will be a special game for me.
“I haven’t seen their games, to be honest, but I think the manager needs time. Obviously, he’s only been here for a few weeks, so there are massive changes for them. They are in a transition, so I think they need time.
“Hibs supporters are always frustrated. They are lovely, they are the best, but sometimes they can be a little bit hard on their players.
“So, I think they need to give more time to the team at the moment.
“As a Livi player, of course, we’re going to try to take advantage of that changing situation they are in but we just need to apply ourselves to the gaffer’s gameplan and hopefully we can take something out of the game.”
Omeonga’s bustling, energetic performances have made him a huge part of Livi’s success since a challenging start to the campaign with boss David Martindale admitting the midfield trio of Omeonga, Jason Holt, and Scott Pittman, must be an opponent’s ‘worst nightmare’.
That is something the former Genoa man takes pride in and he knows the midfield battle could be key to today’s outcome.
He added: “Whoever is playing in the midfield, what the gaffer expects is for us just to run a lot and not give the opponent time to think.
“That’s what we’re good at and that’s what I’m good at. We just want to be the hardest to play against.
“As a club, that’s what we need to do at Livingston.”
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